Capillarisin blocks prostate-specific antigen expression on activation of androgen receptor in prostate carcinoma cells.

BACKGROUND: Capillarisin (Cap), an active ingredient of Artemisia capillaris extracts, has known for its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anticancer properties. Functions of Cap in prostate cancer are not clear. We investigate effects of Cap on downregulation of prostate specific antigen (PSA) via modulation of androgen receptor (AR) in prostate carcinoma cells. METHODS: Cell proliferation was measured by water-soluble tetrazolium-1 (WST-1) cell proliferation assays. The PSA and AR expressions were assessed by immunoblotting and RT-qPCR assays. Effects of Cap on PSA expressions were determined by ELISA, immunoblotting, and reporter assays. Co-immunoprecipitation and immunoblotting assays were used to define the effects of Cap on dissociation of AR-heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) interaction. RESULTS: Cap inhibited LNCaP cell growth in a dose- and/or time-dependent way without inducing poly ADP-Ribose Polymerase (PARP) cleavage. Cap not only effectively suppressed AR and PSA protein expressions, but also attenuated activations of synthetic androgen (R1881) on PSA promoter activity dose- and time-dependently. The Cap pretreatment abrogated effects of R1881 on AR activity by reducing AR translocation to the nucleus. Immunoblotting assays indicated that Cap promoted a degradation of AR proteins dose-dependently in either cycloheximide pretreated-LNCaP cells or AR-ectopic expressed PC-3 cells. Pretreatment of MG132, a proteasome inhibitor, attenuated effect of Cap on AR degradation. Cap lessened AR stability by dissociation of AR-Hsp90 interaction. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicated that Cap inhibited growth of LNCaP cells. Cap effectively suppressed androgen activation on AR-mediated transactivation, which is AR-dependent through AR degradation and dissociation of AR-Hsp90 in prostate carcinoma cells.

Cobalt-phosphate-assisted photoelectrochemical water oxidation by arrays of molybdenum-doped zinc oxide nanorods.

We report the first demonstration of cobalt phosphate (Co-Pi)-assisted molybdenum-doped zinc oxide nanorods (Zn(1-x)Mo(x)O NRs) as visible-light-sensitive photofunctional electrodes to fundamentally improve the performance of ZnO NRs for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. A maximum photoconversion efficiency as high as 1.05% was achieved, at a photocurrent density of 1.4 mA cm(-2). More importantly, in addition to achieve the maximum incident photon to current conversion efficiency (IPCE) value of 86%, it could be noted that the IPCE of Zn(1-x)Mo(x)O photoanodes under monochromatic illumination (450 nm) is up to 12%. Our PEC performances are comparable to those of many oxide-based photoanodes in recent reports. The improvement in photoactivity of PEC water splitting may be attributed to the enhanced visible-light absorption, increased charge-carrier densities, and improved interfacial charge-transfer kinetics due to the combined effect of molybdenum incorporation and Co-Pi modification, contributing to photocatalysis. The new design of constructing highly photoactive Co-Pi-assisted Zn(1-x)Mo(x)O photoanodes enriches knowledge on doping and advances the development of high-efficiency photoelectrodes in the solar-hydrogen field.

MicroRNAs in Head and Neck Cancer.

microRNAs (miRs) are small noncoding single-stranded RNAs, about 19-25 nucleotides long. They have been shown to be capable of altering mRNA expression; thus some are oncogenic or tumour suppressive in nature and are regulated by cellular and epigenetic factors. The molecular pathogenic pathway of many cancers has been modified since the discovery of miRs. Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), the sixth most common cancer in the world, has recently been associated with infection by the human papillomavirus (HPV). miR expression profiles are altered in the transition from dysplasia to carcinoma, with some changes being specific to the underlying risk factor. This difference is particularly significant in HPV-positive HNSCC where host miRs are modulated by the virus, creating a different profile to HPV-negative HNSCC. Saliva, as an easily collected proximal biofluid containing numerous miRs, presents an attractive noninvasive diagnostic tool in detecting HNSCC and determining prognosis. Furthermore, miRs may play a role in the analysis of surgical margins for residual tumour extension and in the development of novel miR-based therapeutic targets and agents.